Thanks Woodie. Unfortunately Friday is the 13th. so we will needs lots of luck. Toronto is close to bankruptcy because our provincial government has chosen to download too much responsibilty to the municipality without providing the funds to deal with them. The municipality has had to increase property taxes by 5% while at the same time, cutting out many services. Now many wonder how much money they will have to provide to run the olympics. Tourism should help but look what has happened in Montreal!!!

The Olympics have only been outside Europe or North America Melbourne 1956, Tokyo 1964, Seoul 1988 and Sydney 2000. Four times ever! Good luck Toronto, but I do think it will be Beijing. Paris is too close to Athens. North America? St Louis, LA (Twice) Mexico City, Atlanta, Montreal..... Is that not enough? However..... Comrade Samaranch cant prounounce BEIJING.... Just like he couldn't pronounce SYDNEY...."And the winner is....... SID-AH-NEE" BAY-AH-JING might be beyond his vocabulary! So it could be TA-RON-TO to save him that embarrasment again!! hehehehe

That was quick!! Not 10 secs after it! Beijing is still a 11 hour flight from Sydney so not necessarily closer!! SHuld arrange a trek through China and the Trans Siberian express. My mum did that all on the train a few years ago. Condolences to Toronto. And he said it right too!! "BAY-JING"

I was sitting on top of the tube waiting for another story. Work is a curse, but you learn everything from it.

Toronto isn't ready for anything like the olympics. They may have the CN Tower (which I love), but you can't sponsor a large event like that in a place where they roll up the sidewalks at 7 PM! The best thing they have for themselves there is the Hockey Hall of Fame. At the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) no relation to the railway, they used to have a large railway layout every year. When they did away with that, I stopped going! Just for that, it serves them right that Beijing got it!